


Even Unsuspected Events can Result in Happy Memories

by magic_in_the_eyes_of_the_beholder



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M, OFC only referred to with pronouns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-19 19:12:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12416253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magic_in_the_eyes_of_the_beholder/pseuds/magic_in_the_eyes_of_the_beholder
Summary: Spencer has been keeping a secret from his coworkers, who quickly unearth it as they prepare for a case and cannot seem to reach him. How will he react? What, or rather who, is the secret?Disclaimer: I definitely do not own Criminal Minds, any of the characters, or any ideas that seem like they belong to CBS. Everything is a work of fiction and an overactive mind.





	Even Unsuspected Events can Result in Happy Memories

“Guys, we’ve got a new case. Wheels up in 30! We’ll discuss it on the plane. Where is Spencer?” Hotch commanded, walking swiftly through the bullpen in route to his office to call Jack and Beth. 

“He took a personal day, Hotch. He didn’t think there was going to be a case,” Derek Morgan responded, looking up from where he was playing an invigorating game of Tetris on his computer.

“Someone call him. His apartment is on the way to the hanger. We don’t have time for him to get here, and it makes more sense to pick him up anyway,” Hotch insisted, heading toward his office after seeing Emily Prentiss reach for her phone.

“Do you know why Spence took a personal day?” JJ asked Morgan, who was prepping to leave for the next case.

“No, I don’t. He’ll be ecstatic to know that we’re going to Arizona in June,” Morgan snorted, thinking of the sweaters the man wears.

“He is from Vegas. I’m sure he’s used to it,” JJ responded before taking a second to call Will and talk to her boys.

Prentiss walked over to where they were and said, “Guys, Spence isn’t answering his phone.”

Everyone tried to call him, but they all received no answer. It was approaching 3 in the afternoon. He should be awake, and his phone should be near him. He knows cases happen randomly. Hotch and Rossi came down from their offices with their go bags to hear that Spencer hadn’t answered his phone.

“He should be at home if he isn’t answering his phone. Sometimes it’s out of his sight. He’ll see the missed calls, and he’ll know that we’re on our way,” Rossi said, shrugging his shoulders.

They all headed toward Reid’s house, comfortably fitting in an extended FBI sedan. They pulled up to Reid’s apartment and saw no sign of life.

“Okay, now I don’t like this. He isn’t answering his phone. There’s no sign that he’s at his apartment. I have an extra key. Let’s all go inside and see what’s happening,” JJ murmured, dread pooling in the pit of her stomach.

They all knew that Spencer had been acting weird for a while, but they didn’t think it was serious. Now they were afraid that it was dilaudid again. They all climbed out of the SVU, heading for Spencer’s apartment. They climbed up the stairs and put the key in the lock. Unbeknownst to them, Spencer was preoccupied with something else entirely.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 

Spencer laid his head on his girlfriend’s chest, just having ravished her in celebration. She ran her fingers through his curls, relishing in the way that his arms tightened around her. They basked in the attention of one another, content to stay in suspended animation as the world zoomed by around them. He nuzzled into her, smiling when she whispered that she loved him.

“Love you too, baby. I’m so proud of you,” he smiled, watching as she beamed at the thought of what that day had held. He scooted up to press kisses into her face.

“Thank you, but I’m hungry. Let’s make food,” she giggled, running her heads through his hair before snagging a t-shirt of his and slipping it on.

“You’re not going to wear panties? How am I supposed to resist you?” He called after her jokingly, slipping a pair of boxer briefs on. She sat on top of the counter in his kitchen, watching him come in the room.

“How did I get lucky enough to have you? You’re breathtakingly gorgeous,” she smiled, raking her eyes up and down his body. He rolled his eyes and prepared what he needed for a late lunch for the two, feeling her eyes follow his every movement. For once, he didn't feel self-conscious in the gaze of another. He knew where he stood with her, and she loved him as he loved her. All was well.

“Don’t objectify me, love. We’ll never eat if you do. I’m assuming I’m making food since you look cozy up there and haven't tried to help,” he smirked and teased her, caressing her face as he passed by her perch on the counter.

“I mean, I’m still celebrating, and I don’t want to cook,” she laughed, watching as he gracefully moved about the kitchen to prepare food. He laughed and continued, determined to provide nourishment before she dragged him back to his bedroom until morning. Neither of them heard the sounds coming from his apartment door. If they did, they dismissed them as Spencer’s neighbor. Spencer had fixed them French toast, which was a favorite of hers. They were eating bits of French toast and had just tossed pots into the sink, not hearing noises over their chatter and food. They were completely consumed with one another - the outside world merely a forgotten thought. However, Spencer’s teammates hurried into the apartment having heard the loud noises, not expecting what they were walking in on. 

Spencer was mid bite when he heard Emily call out, “Spencer?!”

Spencer looked to his girlfriend with wide eyes, who raised an eyebrow in question as confusion darted across their faces. They turned their heads to see his entire team walk into the kitchen of his apartment. The entire team stopped, and their eyes widened comically at the site of their resident genius standing mostly naked in his kitchen, eating breakfast with a scantily clad woman. Derek was the first to regain thought processes.

“You know ravishing a beautiful woman isn’t a reason to take a personal day, Dr. Reid. If it was, I would have used all of mine a long time ago,” Derek laughed, watching as his comment knocked some sense into everyone else. Confusion clouded the expressions of his team as they stood unsure how to proceed. Spencer looked horrified, not expecting his boss and all of his colleagues to see him and his girlfriend in a moment of stolen intimacy. Understanding flashed across her face, knowing who they were and what was rushing through Spencer's head.

“What are you guys doing here?” Spencer asked in a combination of horror and confusion, standing protectively in front of his girlfriend, who continued to eat as if nothing strange was happening - as if this were a regular occurrence. She trusted Spencer to handle whatever battle of the wills was taking place.

“We have a case, Spencer. We couldn’t reach you, and we didn’t expect to walk in on this,” Hotch responded, waving his hand at the two of you. She smiled at him when he gestured at her, causing Rossi to crack a bright smile at the behavior of the young woman.

She nudged Spencer before commanding, “Spencer Reid, introduce me to your team.” He smiled sheepishly at her, and the team softened at the sight of how in love they were.

“Sorry, love,” he murmured, beaming at her. “Guys, this is my girlfriend. Love, this is JJ, Emily, Derek, Hotch, and Rossi.”

Each person smiled and/or waved when their name was said. She smiled brightly back at them before running a hand soothingly to the nape of his neck to run her fingers through his hair. Watching two people be completely comfortable in each other's space was a rare treat when Dr. Reid was involved, and the team adored seeing the adoration shared between them.

“How long have you crazy kids been together?” Rossi asked, remembering his love life as he leaned against the door frame.

“About 2 and a half years,” she responded before Spence interjected with, “2 years, 7 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 20 hours, 4 minutes, and an increasing number of seconds.”

“What he said,” she beamed at them, laughing at his need to pinpoint the exact time their relationship began. She loved his attention to detail - just as she loved everything else about him.

“Why haven’t we met her before, Spencer?” JJ asked, frowning.

“Well, at first, I wanted to keep her all to myself. Then, I didn’t know when to introduce her, and then some things happened, and I didn’t feel comfortable with introducing her because I thought something bad was going to happen to her because of our job,” Spencer shrugged, wrapping an arm around her.

“Go get dressed, dear. I’ll entertain your friends,” she whispered, knowing this was an uncomfortable topic for him. 

She hopped down from the counter, being careful to keep the shirt pulled down. Everyone followed her to the living room. They chatted idly as Spencer prepared his bags to go on this case. When he came back ready, he looked at everyone, relieved to find them smiling.

“Before we leave, I have to know. Why today of all days did you take a personal day? It’s such a random day,” Derek questioned.

Spencer looked to his girlfriend, who smiled awkwardly, not appreciating attention focused on her, before she nodded. Spencer quickly explained, “My lovely girlfriend finished her emergency surgery fellowship yesterday, and we wanted to celebrate. She starts her next career move on Monday, and we wanted to celebrate her being able to be the attending physician in emergency surgery rather than a fellow or resident.”

JJ and Emily hugged her tightly as everyone else congratulated her. Spence winked at his girlfriend, loving that everyone liked her. Hotch clapped her on the shoulder gently before saying, “Okay, as much as we loved getting to meet your significant other, we have a case. It was lovely meeting you, Doctor. Tell Spencer not to hide you away.”

Everyone headed toward the door as Spencer approached his girlfriend. Curious, they all spied around the corner as Spencer dropped his bags and took her in his arms. They hugged tightly before Spencer pulled her in for a long, passionate kiss. Her fingers tangled in his hair as his hands slid down to cup her ass.

“Get it, Spencer!” Derek boldly shouted to the raucous laughter from the others.

They broke apart, and Spencer glared at him as she blushed. He turned back to her, pressing kisses all over her face as she giggled. “I’m so incredibly proud of you, baby. I’m in awe of who you are and who you are becoming. You’re going to rock the socks off everyone. I’ll see you soon. I love you.”

They didn’t hear what she said, but they watched as Spencer’s ears and neck became red from his blush. They kissed one last time before she waved everyone off.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

The team climbed in the car, placing Spencer’s bags in the trunk as well. Everyone was quiet until they got settled on the plane and took off. Then they all turned to look at him.

“What?” he asked innocently, deigning to not look up from his cell phone to glance at the team. He could feel the heat of their stares and actively chose to ignore them. He picked up the case file for the Arizona case, quickly reading through it before finally looking up at them and raising an eyebrow. 

“2 years! Almost 3 years! Doctor Spencer Reid! Why did you not tell us that you had a gorgeous, successful, intelligent girlfriend that you were boning?” Derek freaked out before anyone else. Spencer looked at him in confusion and a little shock, unused to Derek behaving so erratically. 

“I told you why you didn’t meet her. It was really uncomfortable for me, and she wanted everything to happen at my own pace,” Spencer shrugged, twiddling his fingers together. 

“Have you met her parents? Has she met yours? How did you meet? Why have you been so distant?” JJ practically shouted at him. The others looked at him out of curiosity, wanting to know more out the woman who had captured the young doctor’s heart. 

“I have met her parents, all of her siblings, and most of her family. Her family is very close to one another despite her not being close to them. After two and a half years, it makes sense that we’ve met each other’s parents. She has met my mom. They adore each other. She hasn’t met my dad, but she knows about him. She’s aware that we are estranged. I’ve met some of her friends and vice versa. She just hasn’t met you all because of what we discussed previously. We met each other at a lecture in DC, when I took a few days to myself almost three years ago. I haven’t noticed myself being distant,” Spencer rushed through his response at hyper speed, feeling uncomfortable at everyone dissecting his relationship. 

“Are you doing okay? You have been different for the last few weeks, and we thought you were pulling away and had an issue with dilaudid again,” Emily softly expressed her concern, placing a hand on Spencer’s in a comforting gesture. 

He smiled and gently said, “Did you know that in 2010, over 3,000 people were killed in Côte d’Ivoire over civil wars and disputes over diamonds that resulted in a loss of $20 million? Many countries have noticed the same issues and disparities over the diamond industry.” 

Hotch and Rossi smiled softly at the man before them, realizing what he was alluding to. 

“Can we see it?” Rossi asked softly, smiling encouragingly at the man before him. Spencer reached into his jacket packet and pulled out a small, black ring box. JJ and Emily gasped just slightly, fully understanding Spencer's distance. He opened the ring box and showed a gorgeous, radiant cut diamond surrounded by a double helix band of diamonds on each side. The center diamond seemed to glisten as a light blue. It was a breathtakingly gorgeous ring. It was as unique and outstanding as its intended recipient.

“Spence, it’s gorgeous! I’m so excited for you!” JJ said, hopping up to hug him. Spencer pocketed the ring once again, smiling sheepishly. 

“I’ve been kind of distant because I’ve been picking out rings, trying to decide when to introduce everyone, and how to propose to the love of my life. The only person she has ever met is some of my friends from one of my PhD programs and Penelope. I made Penelope swear to secrecy, and she knows how important this is to me, so she wouldn’t say anything,” Spencer explained emphatically. 

They all nodded and indicated that they understood his reasoning. 

“Have you thought about how you plan on proposing?” Hotch asked gently, swiftly changing the subject to alleviate the uncomfortable silence. 

“Um, kind of. I’m stuck between a few ideas. Nothing seems perfect enough to capture even a fraction of the love that I feel for her. This is all so new, and everything I think of isn’t right. Nothing seems perfect enough,” Spencer rambled, brain moving at thousands of words a minute as ideas flooded his brain. 

“I have the perfect idea, and when we get back home, we’re going to all plan this out,” JJ said, smiling brightly at him. Spencer raised an eyebrow at her, but she chose to not respond to his inquiring gaze.

“Okay, pretty boy, I’m going to need you to hook your phone to your monitor. We’ve got time to look at some pictures of her. I want to know more about the woman that has stolen Spence away from us,” Derek said, laughing at the expression of horror on Spencer’s face. 

Looking around at the others and realizing that he was going to have to show his colleagues more about his very private life, he sighed and connected his phone to the television. He started going through a random assortment of photos – everything from stills of her to photos of them together to candid and back. He talked about the little things they’d done over the course of their relationship like eating bagels and drinking coffee at Tiffany & Co because she wanted to have “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” 

“What she didn’t know is that I ordered the ring right then and there as I watched her admire the jewelry in the shop. She was purchasing presents for her mother and stepmother. I waited until her back was turned and designed the ring quickly. I knew what she liked,” Spencer said, small, nostalgic smile gracing his face at the thought of his love. 

“Spencer, that’s the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever heard,” JJ whispered, tears springing to her eyes at the thought of Spencer finally having found the happiness that he deserves.

After another half hour of hearing anecdotes about the two, Hotch finally regained attention of his team. They began to discuss the case and hoped for a speedy resolution. What the case would hold, they couldn't be sure. However, what they all were sure of is the excitement and sheer joy that they felt knowing that Spencer finally found someone who loved him as selflessly and purely as he deserved to be.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Thousands of miles away, a doctor sat down in her boyfriend's living room, content to watch trashy television and reconnect with the world in a rare moment of being alone and not being occupied by a thousand things. She smiled contentedly, thinking about her significant other and what he was currently doing. Joy flooded through her as she realized that he was probably being interrogated by a highly skilled group of professionals about the nature of their relationship. She didn't know what the future had in store for them. She didn't know of his intentions to propose, but she did know that there was nothing she wanted more than him.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I definitely do not own Criminal Minds, any of the characters, or any ideas that seem like they belong to CBS. Everything is a work of fiction and an overactive mind. This is definitely a tangent that went through my mind as I was watching re-runs of the show.
> 
> Please don't plagiarize, and please let me know what you think! If you could be kind, that would be amazing. It took a lot of courage to finally share something. I have been writing for years to hone my skills, but I've yet to share my work with others, so this is my first post. Let me know if you want to see more. I am considering continuing these adventures.
> 
> Thank you to all the lover readers!!


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